Things didn't look promising for New England when rookie wideout Aaron Dobson
dropped a 4th-down pass, causing the Patriots to turn the ball over on downs
at their own 24-yard line trailing by a point with 2:46 left in the game.

New Orleans ran the ball on first and second down, with the Patriots calling a
timeout after both plays. After Drew Brees threw an incompletion, Garrett
Hartley kicked a 39-yard field goal to put the Saints up 27-23.

It became even more bleak for the Patriots as Brady was intercepted on first
down of the ensuing drive.

However, the New England defense forced a second straight three-and-out. Brady
got the ball back with 1:13 to play and the third time proved to be the charm
as he orchestrated a game-winning drive.

Brady opened the decisive possession with a trio of completions, quickly
advancing the ball from his 30 to the New Orleans 26. Facing 4th-and-4, he
found newcomer Austin Collie for a second time on the drive and the wideout's
9-yard gain kept the comeback bid alive.

After spiking the ball to stop the clock, Brady, who had his streak of 52
consecutive games with a touchdown pass snapped in last week's loss at
Cincinnati, hit Thompkins in the back left corner of the end zone.

"We said even if we miss the fourth-down play, we could still get the ball
back at some point and go down and score," Brady said. "Our defense made a
great stop. They punted the ball to the 25, 30 (yard-line) and guys made a
bunch of plays there at the end. Guys made big-time catches."

Brady posted 269 yards on 25-of-43 passing for New England (5-1), which had
several players get banged up in the last-second win. Wide receiver Danny
Amendola (head), cornerback Aqib Talib (hip), linebacker Jerod Mayo (shoulder)
and offensive lineman Dan Connolly (head) all left the game with injuries.

Talib, who played an integral role in Saints tight end Jimmy Graham being held
without a catch, and Amendola were hurt in a third quarter during which New
Orleans (5-1) erased a 10-point halftime deficit.

"Aqib really competed hard and in the end, I don't think either one of them
were on the field," New England head coach Bill Belichick said about Talib's
effort against Graham, who wound up leaving with an ankle injury in the fourth
quarter. "Both guys ended up being out, but it was a great battle and a great
matchup. I thought Talib battled him, went toe-to-toe with him the whole way.
It was a good matchup."

The Saints produced points on each of their first two second-half drives to
pull even at 17. Hartley converted a 28-yarder and rookie Khiry Robinson
scored on a 3-yard touchdown run.

Amendola absorbed a vicious hit to the head on the next New England
possession. He was clearly disorientated after being drilled by safety Rafael
Bush near the sideline on a run. The Patriots were already playing without
tight end Rob Gronkowski, who was not given clearance to make his season
debut.

Later in the drive, New England was able to regain the lead via Stephen
Gostkowski's career-long 54-yard field goal.

Brees was then picked off early in the fourth quarter by cornerback Kyle
Arrington, whose 5-yard return set New England up with a first down at the New
Orleans 20. The Patriots, though, settled for a 23-yard Gostkowski field goal.

Down 23-17, Brees led the Saints on a 10-play, 81-yard drive that ended with a
34-yard TD pass to rookie wideout Kenny Stills on 3rd-and-20. The score put
the visitors ahead with 3:29 to go.

The Saints went three-and-out on three of their five first-half drives. Brees
did hook up with running back Travaris Cadet for a 3-yard touchdown in the
opening quarter.

"New England did a very good job containing us," said Saints head coach Sean
Payton. "Offensively, we had too many three-and-outs early on."

Stevan Ridley, back after missing last week's game due to knee and thigh
injuries, ran for two second-quarter touchdowns to put New England up 17-7.

The Saints were driving before the break and were prepared to stick with the
offense on 4th-and-1 from the New England 38. However, a questionable false
start penalty forced them to punt.

Game Notes

Belichick earned his 210th win as a head coach, passing Chuck Noll for sole
possession of fifth place on the NFL's all-time list ... Brady threw his 342nd
career touchdown pass, tying him with Fran Tarkenton for the fourth-most in
league history ... Brees completed 17-of-36 passes for 236 yards. He suffered
his first loss in four games against New England ... The Saints have opened a
season 6-0 twice before (1991 and 2009) ... Ridley had 96 yards on 20
carries ... The Patriots have forced a turnover in 33 straight games, the
longest active streak in the NFL ... Gostkowski now has nine career field
goals of 50-plus yards, a new franchise record. He had been tied with Adam
Vinatieri.